Today I started my journey. It took me a long time to buy my freedom, but now I'm really looking forward to what I'm about to experience. I was barely outside the door when a white rabbit ran into me. It seemed a bit strange, so I followed him immediately.

It quickly disappeared into the bushes, but I was at least able to follow its trail. It felt like it took me through the whole country; I had to cross meadows and stones, through forests and the river. This was the first time I almost lost the rabbit's trail; the second time was because of the traveling merchants I encountered. It was rare to find so many clothes at the market, but the rabbit was of course more important and unfortunately, I didn't have the time to look at the goods and hear one or two stories from the merchants' homeland.

But luckily, I finally found the burrow into which the animal must have hatched.

DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE

Something so strange had never happened to me before. After jumping down the rabbit hole, I fell into an endless depth and was swept into a kind of vortex. Colors and shapes swirled around, it was simply magical. The magic swirling around me reminded me of what I was missing in the world above. There are so many beautiful events in Faeo right now about love and friendship. It wasn't easy to gather all the information about it to share the knowledge with all warriors so that they can take part in the festivities.

Luckily the spinning stopped at some point, I started to feel a bit strange. But I still fell down without feeling like I was falling. At first the tunnel was narrow, but then it got wider and wider like a real cave . The walls and the air were full of indescribable odds and ends, some of them things I had never seen before. It was all terribly interesting!

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take any of it with me and examine it. Whenever I reached for something, it seemed to move away. Sadly I couldn't look at the things for a long time because of a light from below that was getting more and more intense. Things around me became uninteresting as the light grew brighter and brighter, blinding me until it finally swallowed me whole. I don't know how long it took me to wake up. I found myself on a lush green meadow. In front of me was a wide, cobbled street.

THE PATH
 

The road was really odd. It stretched endlessly, like everything else in this twisted world. Perfectly paved with yellow bricks, I had never seen anything like it. In the distance I saw a small building, like some kind of toll house. My curiosity immediately got the better of me, so I set off. When I stepped onto the street, I instantly felt uneasy. It felt strangely soft, like walking on rubber and winding like a snake. Doing my best to ignore all that, it was a relaxed walk to the toll house. Here sat a grim creature blocking the way. It was small with old, bony fingers and a deep voice. I couldn't see its face because it had a hood pulled low over it. It explained to me that only the wisest of the wise were allowed to enter their city, therefore I had to solve a riddle to go any further.

As I loved puzzles, the whole thing was of course no problem for me. That over I thought it would be a relaxed journey, but it wasn't the last toll house. One after the other blocked my way and I had to solve many puzzles. The creatures inside somehow all looked the same. You could almost have thought it was the same and that the road was looping somehow to return me to the same toll house. The strange stones didn't make it any easier, and after a relatively short time I had difficulty concentrating. At some point I had also stopped counting how many of the various puzzles I had already solved. 

Marching this path of wisdom, as I had come to call it, I approached a toll house that was just like the previous ones and I was greeted by an incredible sight.
 

 

MORE WHITE RABBITS
 

I finally found myself past the last tollbooth, but instead of relief I found yet another challenge. I was in the middle of a huge tangled intersection with countless paths, roads and trails leading off it. It looked like the root system of a massive tree. Two questions troubled me now: Firstly - which way was the right way, if there even was  a right way? Secondly - What did my rabbit look like? I asked this because the intersection was swarming with white rabbits! All hopping around aimlessly and endlessly, at least that was how it seemed at first glance. When I looked closely I could see small differences; some wore little bows or ties or had odd coloured eyes. That did not help me however because 'my' rabbit was completely lost in the hustle and bustle. Finally I gave  up trying to identify him and plopped myself down on the ground with no idea how to continue.

It was then that I heard a noise and went to investigate and this was when I saw a short way off a strange archway and....people! There were actually people there! Not many though and they totally ignored me calling out to them. They were in line and focused on moving through the archway. As I moved closer I discovered to my astonishment that they came out the other side as, you have guessed it, white rabbits! Well, I thought to myself, that explains all the rabbits. By the time I reached the arch everyone had gone through, all that was left was a basket with just a few rabbit ears in it. 

I quickly decided not to touch these. I did not fancy life as a rabbit, it seemed a far cry from that of a warrior and who knew if I would ever be able to change back.

All of a sudden I felt like I was being watched. I looked around and most of the rabbits were gone, but one sat on one of the many paths and stared at me. That was definitely my rabbit!

I didn't hesitate and ran towards the animal. Naturally it didn't wait for me, it scampered off and of course I followed.
 

THE MAP
 

Once again I found myself chasing after that white rabbit. It occurred to me that it could be a transformed a human. After stumbling over another pothole I hoped all this would be worth it in the end. Of course, the new path I was on was strange. Every hundred paces or so some sort of stone altar had been erected. Unfortunately, I couldn't see exactly what was depicted on it because my rabbit was hopping along at a decent pace. I could only ever make out a few squiggly lines, but they didn't make any sense to me. In fact, I was so busy trying to catch glimpses of the altars that I wasn't paying attention to the path itself. That was until a dark shadow loomed in front of me. I was a little frightened to find myself in front of a dense forest. I could just see the tail of the white rabbit disappearing between two trees.

When I arrived at the point where he had disappeared, I could see a narrow path, almost completely swallowed up by the trees and plants of the forest. A light-colored leather bag had also been hung on a branch there. I looked around, but there was no one in sight. Naturally, I reached for the bag, there was a crumpled piece of paper inside. Unfolding it I felt that it was a map, but it didn't make any sense. I started to have a suspicion about the lines on the stones! I ran back to the last stone altar, only part of the map was shown there. I went further back, another part of the map. The stones were too heavy to carry, so how could I get the full picture?! Finally, after the fourth altar, I understood: the map pieces shown showed me the way! All I had to do was fold my paper the way the individual parts dictated. Now I was a little annoyed about having to walk all the way back.

But what wouldn't you do to satisfy your curiosity and for a white rabbit.

 

THROUGH THE FOREST
 

I don't know exactly how long I wandered through the forest or when exactly I started to regret my curiosity. The map wasn't much help, I felt like I was walking in circles. There was no path here, just lots of trees, bushes, plants, and weeds. At least that's what I thought, because I had not seen much of the flora in FAEO before.

At some point I heard a splash - that could only mean water! The map had guided me correctly after all, the blue line was a stream. The marked source had to be nearby. I suddenly realized how hungry and thirsty I was. There were a few berries here and there and strange mushrooms, but I wasn't too keen on testing those. Who knew if they were edible or not? I decided to look for a water source instead. The rabbit was gone anyway.
After a relatively short time I finally made it and fought my way through the bushes. I arrived at a clearing with the spring, from which a narrow stream made its way to another 'somewhere'. I had forgotten my thirst; I was so overwhelmed by this clearing.

nbelievable that there was such a beautiful, colorful place among all the darkness. They weren't flowers, but ferns of all colors and sizes, enjoying the sun through the opening in the canopy of the trees. Green, blue, red, yellow, purple - and many more colors. Some ferns were as big as a house, others could easily fit in my hand. I closed my eyes for a moment, letting the peace and warmth wash over me.

Someone cleared their throat. I looked around in shock. A woman stood in the middle of the clearing. She hadn't been there just now.
 

AN UNUSUAL CHERRY BREAK
 

I stared at the woman, and she smiled kindly back. It was impossible to guess how old she was. She had gray hair and a slightly hunched posture, but her face appeared younger and fresher. She wore a colorful robe, but even so it was not nearly as bright as the ferns around us. She greeted me and pointed to the large basket in her hand. I didn't see any weapons on her so stepped closer. She took two clay cups from the basket and explained that we could use them to drink water from the spring and that it was wonderfully refreshing.

I asked the woman who she was. She replied with a smile that she wanted to help me and handed me a cup. After the cups were full, she drank first and nothing happened, so I drank too. She was right, the water was wonderful, and I filled my cup again. Then the woman reached into her basket again and pulled out a large clay bowl full of cherries. I had never seen fruits that big or that red. Here, too, I waited until she had eaten some before helping myself. I didn't know cherries could taste so good! It's hard to describe, they tasted like the purest essence of cherries, as if all the others I'd ever eaten were just cheap copies.

The woman waited silently while I ate my fill and after lots of delicious cherries I decided to ask her politely about the rabbit. She nodded at me and asked me to show her the map. She didn't want to tell me how she knew I had it, but since the woman wasn't any weirder than most things here, I resigned myself to it. There was a lake on the map, she drew a path through the forest with her finger and explained to me the best way to get there. She promised me that I would find what I was looking for there.

I hoped so much that she would be right and said goodbye, thanking her for her help. Now I could continue my search for the white rabbit with renewed strength. I looked around one last time so that I could hold this image of the clearing for a long time.

 

 

AT THE LAKE

This time I knew exactly where I was and where I had to go, so I reached the lake quickly.
The water glistened beautifully in the early afternoon sun. The surface was as smooth as glass and only here and there were shallow waves lapping the shore. I went there because a man was standing on the shore. He was dressed just like the woman and looked just as young and just as old at the same time. I could have sworn his ears were a little too long for a human. He greeted me in a friendly manner, and I introduced myself. After learning that the two of them were the village elders, I finally got answers to my questions. He was indeed the enchanted rabbit that had lured me here. They needed help from outside for a terrible war that threatened to destroy them soon. My guess is that he had been watching me for a long time before choosing me. We talked for a very, very long time. He told me all about his village, this world and the origin of the war. The wonderful story about this place would go beyond the scope of my diary, but I made a firm resolution to write it down separately. Everything he said drew me to his side and that of his people.

Suddenly the lake ruptured, and a huge goldfish leapt into the air, only to land back in the water, splashing loudly. And by huge, I mean huge, it was about the size of the cart in the town square!

The man had noticed my expression and concluded that the goldfish I knew were a lot smaller. So, the elder explained to me how some animals got so big. There was a lot of magic and secrets here in the world of the rabbit hole. Now this world was to be destroyed. 

One thing was clear: I would help them at all costs to prevent this!

THE CITY

We made our way to the capital shortly afterwards. The elder used every second to explain this wonderful world to me and I eagerly soaked up all the information. I was barely aware of my surroundings, except that the forest slowly thinned out and we passed wide fields with individual farms. The war here in this country had apparently been raging for decades without a victor. So far, the opponents had always been evenly matched, but something seemed to be brewing on the dark side.

We reached our destination far too quickly. I was overwhelmed by the number of people and the magnificently decorated buildings in the city center. I hadn't expected a real city and yet I was now in the middle of the action. The elder led me straight into their inner sanctum - the great library. Shelves upon shelves with countless books of all kinds as far as the eye could see and a cozy reading corner here and there. I was in heaven! Unfortunately, the elder walked quickly through here too, so I couldn't even get a good look at any of the books.

Finally we stopped, apparently in the middle of the building, and found ourselves in front of a strange phenomenon. A chest seemed to have been set into the floor, completely surrounded by glass.

The old man explained to me that a powerful spell protects the secrets of the chest. It was cast a long time ago and no one still alive knows how to break the spell. A shiver ran down my spine. Whatever might be in there, I really wanted to know!